Iced food container prop



April 29, 1952 MOSCHETTO 2,594,479

'ICED FOOD CONTAINER PROP Filed June 19, 1947 35 IN V EN TOR.

Patented Apr. 29, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to supporters for food containers.

The object of the invention is to provide a means for supporting food containers, so constructed that the food in the container will be better refrigerated.

In the case of shipping barrels having ventilating openings for the passage of air, and in which chickens, for example, are packed with ice, the chickens at the lower part of the barrel receive the molten ice drippings from above and are surrounded by a high humidity. The chickens frequently become slimy in feeling, and lose their prime quality. Also, the lower part of the barrel often acts as a reservoir for the water of the molten ice. When such a filled barrel is placed in the refrigerator, as is the practice, in which refrigerator the floor is covered with sawdust, the seepage of the water from the bottom of the barrel soaks the sawdust surrounding the barrel, and the water swollen sawdust seams the lower head of the barrel, thus impeding drainage of the barrel. The distribution of the water from the drippings also moistens the sawdust on the floor of the refrigerator. This is most objectionable to those using the interior of the refrigerator for dressing meat, or taking meat or other provisions out of or into the refrigerator.

In practice, some of these objections have been sought to be overcome by emptying the contents of the shipping barrels into a container of metal disposed in the refrigerator. The objection to this procedure is that the products such as chickens, for instance, while subject to the low temperature of the refrigerator, are not subject to circulation of air, and in consequence deteriorate in quality. A further objection is that where such a metal container had been previously used for a product having a retentive odor, the new product is permeated with that odor. Also, when the floor of the refrigerator is constantly wetted, the constant dampness caused a peculiar odor which is readily absorbed by at least some of the products in the refrigerator exposed thereto.

The invention consists of a structure for supporting food enclosing shipping containers in which the food is icedconsisting of a support having means for circulating air in order to subject the entire contents of the barrel to the movement of dry air, without the objectionable presence of humidity, and having means for the discharge of the ice drippings from the barrels.

The preferred embodiment is a prop or support avoid the lifting of the heavy shipping containers with their contents upon the prop or support, the height being such as to be able to readily roll or slide the filled container into proper position on to the support. Water collecting means for the drippings are provided and these are so arranged as to be capable of being readily emptied.

The invention will be further described, embodiments thereof will be shown in the drawings, and the invention will be finally pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view;

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section taken on line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section taken on line 4--4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a front view of another embodiment of the invention, and

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view showing the air circulation.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the various views.

Referring to the drawings, the prop or support H) serves to bear, carry, sustain, or uphold a shipping container of iced food and acts essentially as a prop for ventilating the container and collecting the drippings from the ice on the container.

The prop It has four legs H, l2, l3 and M, which support a pan 20 having a circumferential rim I5 welded thereto, preferably of angle iron, and having a slope towards a centrally disposed opening 2|. A plurality of ribs I6, each, having a triangular cross section, with the apex H extending upwardly, and each forming a triangular space I8, extend from the front to the rear of the rim l5, and have their ends welded to the rim, forming a welded steel construction. The ribs l6 are spaced from each other laterally. The circumference of the rim I5 is larger than that of the present largest diameter standard barrel, so as to leave a circumferential space, between the edge of the bottom of the barrel and the rim in order to provide a passage for air circulation. The height of the prop I0 is such as to enable a convenient rolling action of the circular bottom of the barrel upon the edge of the rim l5, and then by a sliding or pushing action, preferably along the length of the ribs 16, place the bottom of the barrel upon the ribs,

in spaced relationship to the marginal rim, without the necessity of lifting the barrel. The short legs are so disposed to the circumference of the rim that they act to prevent the tilting of the prop, no matter in what direction the barrel is rolled on to the prop.

To gather the drippings from the pan is, discharging at the opening 2|, a box 25 is provided, which has a front handle 25, preferably formed by bending over the front wall into curved form. The rear wall of the box is preferably bent or curved, as at 26a. The box '25 is preferably rectangular or square in shape, with a curved front 25a. The box 25 is guided on rails 22 and 23, each of angle iron, and each secured to a pair of legs. Reinforcing uprights 252) may be provided at the front corners of the box, and the height of the front portion of the box is such as to act as a stay to the front portion of the rim, so that this part of the box serves to prevent the prop from tilting when the barrel slides on the front of the rim. The box 25 has an open top and sloping slides and its rear part 26a is below the lower part of the pan 20, to permit the box to be moved forwardly and emptied.

Instead of a circular prop I 0, as shown in Figs. 1 to 4, an oblong prop 30, as shown in Fig. 5, may be used for crates or boxes containing products such as vegetables, which are iced by intermediate pieces of ice. slightly larger than the standard box or crate to provide marginal air circulation. embodiment, the front wall 33 of the box is not curved, but merely flat. The structure is otherwise the same as that described in connection with Figs. 1 to 4. The pan is indicated by 3 i, the spaces between the ribs or ridges 16 by 32, the rim by 34, the horizontal guideways by 35 and 36, and rollers, if desired, by 31.

In Fig. 1 is shown a completely filled barrel 45 of standard type resting on the prop 6, showing the ice 41 as a top layer. The barrels are usually of wood, and the staves 48 have spaces 44 about the central part of the barrel. The upper and lower ends of the staves 48 are close together. An upper ring 49 and lower ring 49a hold the staves together, as known, and wire rings 58 are also used. These spaces 44 provide air inlet and exits.

In Fig. 6, is shown diagrammatically, the outline of the barrel 45 supported by the prop ID.

The contents are shown with alternating layers of ice 4! and chickens 46. Air enters at the top, as shown, by the arrows 40, and descends due to its coldness, and some air exits through the spaces 44 (of Fig. 1), as shown by the arrows M. This cold air descends outside the barrel and flows downwardly along the outside of the barrel, as shown by the arrows 42, to the lowermost end of the barrel, and in between the rim I and the barrel, and below the bottom of the barrel, to

the pan 20, and through the opening 2!, as shown by the arrows 43, into the drip box and then out of the same. The descending air passes through the opening 2 i. Thus, the space between the outer part of the barrel and the rim communicating with the space below the grid by means of the spaces between the ribs, forms an air circulation means, which induces a downward draft of air within and without the barrel. At the same time, any water from the ice, which leaks out of the bottom of the barrel, or from the sides immediately above the bottom, is discharged into the box 25,v and thus keeps the bottom of the barrel and the lower part of the barrel relatively dry. The same mode of operation is present when a crate is used with the prop 39 In this The prop is again made of Fig. 5. The chickens or other contents of the barrel or crate, are thereby subjected to a constant flow of dry air, which cooled by the ice, keeps the contents cold, and does not subject such contents to the objectionable humidity attendant heretofore.

Instead of the drip box, the opening of the pan 29 can be connected with a drain pipe, whereby a series of props can be arranged by means of a common drain pipe discharging into a main drain pipe.

The material preferred is rustproof metal, such as galvanized iron, etc.

The drip box is preferable over drain pipes, where sawdust is used on the floors, since sometimes sawdust gets into the drain pipes.

The wooden bottoms of these shipping barrels have centrally disposed openings. Also, the parts of the bottoms usually spring open, providing spaces. The downward flow of air passes through these openings and spaces and thus an air circulation is provided at the interior of the lower part of the barrel.

Chickens have been selected to described the mode of operation of the circulation inducing prop, because of their sensitiveness to surroune ing atmospheric conditions. It is understood that in place thereof iced fish, or other iced foods in barrels can be used; and in the case of crates, iced vegetables and iced fruits may be subjected to the circulation induced by the prop.

The cost of using the improvement is soon made up by the saving in wetted sawdust.

It will have been noted that by raising the shipping container from the floor, and spacing the walls from the rim, a current producing air stream is set into operation which draws the descending air inside and outside of the shipping container downwardly, thus inducing the air flow over the ice and the food. products therebetween.

I have described several forms of my invention, but obviously Various changes may be made in the details disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention as set out in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In an iced food shipping container pro the combination of a plurality of spaced ribs of triangular oross section, with the apex extending upwardly, extending from the front to the back of the prop, a surrounding rim for the ribs, and secured thereto, legs for supporting the rim, more than three in number, a pan below the ribs and secured to the rim and having a downward slope from its margin to the central part thereof, and having an opening at its lowermost part, and a drip box slidable between the legs and below the opening when in its normal position, capable of removal for emptying.

2. In an iced food shipping container prop, the combination of a plurality of spaced ribs of triangular cross section, with the apex extending upwardly, extending from the front to the back of the prop, a surrounding rim for the ribs, and secured thereto, legs for supporting the rim more than three in number, a pan below the ribs and secured to the rim and having a downward slope from its margin to the central part thereof, and having an opening at its lowermost part, and a drip box slidable between the legs and below the opening when in its normal position, and capable of removal for emptying, said legs havin guide rails for the drip box.

3. In a prop for shipping containers, the combination of a plurality of spaced ribs for supporting a shipping container, extending from the front to the 'rear of the prop, means extending from the ribs to the ground for supporting the ribs, a pan of downward inclination below all of said ribs, and supported thereby, and spaced from the lower surface thereof in proximity thereto, to form a drip collector and an air circulation space, and a drip box supported for sliding movement on said prop below said pan to receive the drippings of the pan, the front wall of the drip box having a height to extend from the ribs to substantially the ground so as to support the front ends of said ribs to prevent the prop from tilting when a container is applied thereto, whereby said prop is adapted to support iced food shipping containers, the height of the ribs from the ground upon which the prop is placed being within the practical tilting of the container when being placed on the'ribs and the length of the ribs being longer than the container to provide air circulation spaces around the container in communication with the space above the pan.

LOUIS MOSCHETTO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

' UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 678,404 Kline July 16, 1901 717,120 Reid Dec. 30, 1902 745,768 'Bernier Dec. 1, 1903 849,069 .Hicks Apr. 2, 1907 1,147,754 Schultz July 27, 1915 1,334,409 Sindelar Mar. 23, 1920 2,302,639 4 Moore Nov. 17, 1942 2,306,752 Riemenschneider Dec. 29, 1942 

